--- title: Transgender Ban: Donald Trump Sued By Soldiers description: Five active-duty transgender military personnel are suing President Donald Trump over his proposal to ban transgender individuals from military service canonical: https://time.com/4894845/donald-trump-transgender-military-ban-lawsuit/ author: Kevin Lui article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-10T03:08:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:55:49.739Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Sued by Soldiers Over Transgender Ban og:description: It's among the first but likely not the last legal challenge to Trump's proposal og:url: https://time.com/4894845/donald-trump-transgender-military-ban-lawsuit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte054ce3314ac67d5/6988d9307cdbac5392d598ca/gettyimages-90182465.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2nd Brigade Combat Team Soldiers Return To Ft. Carson After 1 Year In Iraq og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Sued by Soldiers Over Transgender Ban twitter:description: It's among the first but likely not the last legal challenge to Trump's proposal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte054ce3314ac67d5/6988d9307cdbac5392d598ca/gettyimages-90182465.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Transgender Soldiers Are Suing President Trump Over His Proposal to Ban Them From the Military by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Aug 10, 2017 3:08 AM UTC  A U.S. Army soldier salutes in Colorado on Aug. 29, 2009. A U.S. Army soldier salutes in Colorado on Aug. 29, 2009.John Moore—Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Aug 10, 2017 3:08 AM UTC Five active-duty transgender military personnel are [suing President Donald Trump](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-transgender-idUSKBN1AP21U) over his proposal to ban transgender individuals from military service, two weeks after he announced the move on Twitter. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Wednesday include three Army soldiers, one Air Force airman and a Coast Guard member, have all come out to their commanding officers, Reuters reports. All five are anonymous in the lawsuit due to concerns that they may face retribution. The suit alleges that Trump’s tweets violated the right to equal protection and due process of transgender service members. According to court papers, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford are also listed among the defendants. The American Civil Liberties Union is also preparing a similar lawsuit, according to Reuters. Trump [announced](http://time.com/4874394/trump-transgender-military-ban-what-to-know/) in a series of tweets on July 26 that the U.S. “will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity,” attributing the decision to what he said were “tremendous medical costs” and “disruption” caused by transgender service members. The announcement appears to have surprised even military leaders. Dunford [said](http://time.com/4876433/joseph-dunford-trump-transgender-ban-response/) that the tweets will only become policy when Mattis receives official White House direction, adding that the armed forces “will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect” in the meantime. \[[Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-transgender-idUSKBN1AP21U)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4894845/donald-trump-transgender-military-ban-lawsuit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4894845/donald-trump-transgender-military-ban-lawsuit/"},"headline":"Transgender Soldiers Are Suing President Trump Over His Proposal to Ban Them From the Military","datePublished":"2017-08-10T03:08:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:55:49.739Z","description":"It's among the first but likely not the last legal challenge to Trump's proposal","url":"https://time.com/4894845/donald-trump-transgender-military-ban-lawsuit/","keywords":["Military","White House","Donald Trump","LGBTQ","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte054ce3314ac67d5/6988d9307cdbac5392d598ca/gettyimages-90182465.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte054ce3314ac67d5/6988d9307cdbac5392d598ca/gettyimages-90182465.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2nd Brigade Combat Team Soldiers Return To Ft. 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